Trump let 15 candidates kill themselves, and was the last man standing.

I think the only person he actually beat was Jeb! Everyone else kinda took care of themselves.

If there were, say, 2 moderate candidates, Cruz, the obligatory Rand Paul run, and Trump... I highly doubt we'd be having this conversation.

i don't even think he really beat jeb. he was just such a dull voice among the shouting that he never got the coverage he needed to gain any traction, and the campaign just ran out of gas.

trump had the money to financially sustain a campaign against a dozen jokers without having to expend much (if any) of his resources on fundraising, all he had to do was just wait it out and be the last man standing, like you said. now that money is nowhere near enough to go up against the entire democratic party, and people are realizing how much of a fart in the wind his joke of a campaign really is.

With 30 others. I'm saying if it were only 4 or 5 candidates from the beginning.

Even after all of that, Rubio could have easily cleaned house but then made that debate gaffe. He was surging like crazy in the early state polls and it would've only been a matter of time before he was chosen.

And it is so weird that it took Republicans forever to even be willing to consider the guy and then they immediately let him go after the debate mistake. Rubio is practically as right-wing as it gets in terms of policy, but I guess the base also wanted the bluster that only Trump or Cruz could provide. There is no doubt in my mind that afterthoughts like Christie and Jeb were wise to target Rubio as his surge was inevitable and that would've cock-blocked them from getting the establishment voters...ultimately, their negative ads against him kept him in check and then Christie delivered the knockout blow.

But yes, Trump benefited from a wide field (that stayed wide for too long) and the terrible mathematics of the Republican primary system.

Even after all of that, Rubio could have easily cleaned house but then made that debate gaffe. He was surging like crazy in the early state polls and it would've only been a matter of time before he was chosen.

I think Rubio could have even weathered the storm if Christie didn't decide to commit a murder-suicide on stage.

They've all got to be kicking themselves now...Rubio was faring the best of them all in head-to-head polls against Clinton and was certainly sufficiently conservative enough for all of them. But since it was impossible for any of the establishment-types to win the nomination with Rubio standing in the way, they were willing to throw grenades all over the ship.

Now the rich guy in his poop deck penthouse is the only one left on board as it rapidly sinks into the Atlantic.

i don't know how I feel about this thought that just crossed my mind, but how freaking hilariously badass would it be if president hillary finds the hottest male intern in the white house, bones him in the oval office and just unashamedly announces it to the nation with a "well, now we're even" press conference

In order for anyone/ anything on the right today to get anywhere they must have champion voices within their echo chamber. It seems as if Trump is losing more and more of those each day and the ones he has left are on the fringe or the verge of fringe.

Trump's ego will be bruised and he'll fade into reality tv oblivion. But what I'm more interested in, is how the right will rebuild, and especially how their media will regroup. Will they learn? Or will they double down?